Botswana: Kalahari, the Delta & Beyond

This luxurious camp occupies a prime spot overlooking the Zambezi River and its islands , with noisy hippos and stealthy crocodiles on view from its 12 tents that are raised on stilts and connected by wooden walkways.

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Toka Leya

Location
Livingstone, Zambia

Luxurious Toka Leya Camp enjoys a prime location overlooking the Zambezi River. The east side of the camp is shaded beneath a canopy of trees, while the west side enjoys an open setting next to an ancient baobab tree. Wildlife around the camp includes elephants and crocodiles along the riverbanks and islands, and plenty of resident hippo that often create a ruckus nearby. A wide variety of birds are also on display.

The camp's 12 tents are raised on stilts and connected by wooden walkways to the main common area, minimizing the footprint on the land. Tent interiors utilize earthy hues in harmony with the natural environs. All have private shaded wooden decks with expansive views over the Zambezi’s braided channels. Each tent has individual climate control settings to ensure a cool summer sanctuary. Gauzy mosquito nets are draped over poster beds, and spacious en suite bathrooms have double-basin vanities and large showers. The camp’s shared central area incorporates a lounge with plush sofas and reading lamps, a bar, and a canvas-sheltered dining area complete with traditional pizza oven. A swimming pool is surrounded by a large wooden sun deck with lounge chairs overlooking the river.

Activities in the area include a Victoria Falls tour, sunset cruises, and guided nature walks and game drives in Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Park, home to Cape buffalo, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, impala and more. A special highlight includes the possibility of spotting a white rhinoceros in the park. Guests can also explore the town of Livingstone and its museums, and a nearby village. A visit to the village offers a chance to see how local people live, with insights into their culture and traditions. Other activities available at an additional charge include helicopter flights, canoeing, jet boating and whitewater rafting.

Our private camp, exclusively for our guests, has just five canvas tents, evoking the bush accommodations of early explorers—yet we enjoy exceptional comforts, illumined by the vintage glow of paraffin lanterns and a crackling campfire.

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Gomoti Tented Camp

Location
Okavango Delta, Botswana

Our private Gomoti Tented Camp has just five tents for the exclusive use of NHA guests. The spacious walk-in canvas tents measure 20 x 11 feet and are designed to recreate the accommodation style of the early explorers, with richly colored teak director chairs and spare interiors. Separate bedside tables with 12-volt reading lamps, canvas and wood wardrobes, bathrobes, comfortable beds and mirrors are provided. Each tent includes a separate private en suite toilet and saltwater shower that are part of the structure. Paraffin hurricane lanterns and a crackling campfire set the ambience in the evening, while sumptuous meals using fresh ingredients are typically prepared around the fire by the warm and friendly camp staff.

This luxury camp in the Moremi Game Reserve is secluded on an island in one of the most beautiful corners of the Okavango Delta. Nine raised tents have open-air showers and superb waterhole viewing.

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Xigera Camp

Location
Okavango Delta, Botswana

Xigera (pronounced "Kee-jera") is a luxury tented camp in the Moremi Game Reserve, secluded in one of the most beautiful corners of the Okavango Delta on aptly named Paradise Island. Sheltered beneath mature trees and lush vegetation within a remote sector of the reserve, the camp lies in a permanently flooded region, with palm-studded islands and riverine forests rising from a maze of clear channels and expansive floodplains. Nine raised luxury tents have en suite facilities, an open-air outdoor shower, and superb veranda views of the nearby waterhole and classic delta vistas that surround the camp. Wooden walkways wind through the forest, connecting guest rooms to the communal areas. Guests enjoy meals and evening drinks under thatch in the raised lounge, bar and dining area, which overlooks a permanently flowing channel. A traditional boma, or outdoor dining area, offers a special opportunity to dine on fine cuisine under a starlit African sky. On hot days, the small plunge pool provides welcome refreshment.

Xigera offers nature encounters for all interests. Permanent water year-round provides an unparalleled variety of activities including foot safaris, mokoro (dugout canoe) trips, powerboat outings, and game drives when water levels permit. A feature unique to Xigera is the wooden footbridge connecting the island to a neighboring island. Guests are often treated to close-up views of lion, hyena or leopard padding under the bridge as they travel between the islands. The camp "newspaper" (a sand pit built into the bridge) is "read" each morning and provides information on unseen nightly visitors to camp.

Situated on a private reserve in the very heart of the delta on a thickly forested island, five Meru-style tents built on wooden decks sit high on a lush palm-forested island with views across the floodplains.

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Jacana Camp

Location
Okavango Delta, Botswana

Jacana Camp lies within a private reserve in the northwestern part of the Okavango Delta and is bordered on the east by the Moremi Game Reserve. Lying in the very heart of the delta, the reserve captures all the wonder of the Okavango. Narrow water channels cut through papyrus and reed beds in the permanent delta to the north and east of the reserve, providing the perfect environment for the elusive sitatunga, a water-adapted antelope, and the rare Pel's fishing owl. Jacana Camp is built on a thickly forested palm island, many of which dot the area and invite exploration. Vast, open floodplains also provide epic vistas and desirable wildlife habitat. Jacana is a water-oriented location that offers mokoro (dugout canoe), boat and walking safaris year-round. Day and night game drives are also available, depending on receding water levels in the delta. All the big game are found in the area, including elephant, lion, leopard and buffalo.

Jacana’s five Meru-style tents are built on wooden decks to capitalize on the view across the plains. Each tent has an en suite bathroom that is enclosed but roofless, allowing for showers by starlight, or in dappled sunlight and shade. The camp has a plunge pool for cooling off in the midday sun. The main dining area is on an elevated platform between two magnificent sycamore fig trees and is surrounded by a dense grove of wild date palms. Downstairs, guests may relax in the cozy bar and lounge with an open fire pit area under the stars.

Near famous Deception Valley, with prolific wildlife viewing opportunities in of one of the world’s largest conservation areas, each well-appointed tent offers sweeping views and a sleeping area under the stars.

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Kalahari Plains Camp

Location
Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Botswana

Kalahari Plains Camp is situated in a remote part of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and offers some of the best summer (November to April) wildlife viewing opportunities in Africa. Located in the Kalahari Desert biome in central Botswana, this reserve is the largest conservation area in this country and one of the largest in the world.

The camp, located in genuine wilderness close to the famous Deception Valley, is comprised of eight canvas tent units, each with en suite facilities and an additional elevated outdoor sleeping area, for unparalleled views of the star-studded night sky. A central area offers a lounge, dining area and bar, expansive deck and swimming pool. The tents and the shared area are raised off the ground on wooden platforms to catch the breeze and take in the sweeping views across the Kalahari. Solar power provides all the electricity and hot water in the camp, and insulated canvas walls and roof keep temperatures inside the units comfortable.

Thanks to the diversity of habitats, healthy game populations move through the area and are present to a greater or lesser degree all year long. But it is with the advent of the rains that the desert truly comes to life. Short grasses sprout in the pan systems and fossil riverbeds, and plains game such as springbok, gemsbok and wildebeest converge here by the hundreds and thousands to feed. This of course attracts predators such as lion and cheetah; the abundance of game during the summer rainy season offers occasional chances to see thrilling lion and cheetah hunts.